Frutiger vs Verdana

Verdana was influenced by Frutiger.

Type specimen — Frutiger (Humanist sans); shown in Open Sans, a descendant (OFL)

Frutiger

Adrian Frutiger's 1976 humanist sans, drawn for the signage of Charles de Gaulle Airport — engineered for instant legibility at speed and distance, and the model for a generation of wayfinding type.

  • Exceptionally open apertures on c, e, a, s
  • Clearly varied letter widths for character distinction
  • Generous x-height with subtly flared terminals
  • Slight stroke modulation, humanist not monoline
  • Curved, splayed R leg and pointed A apex
Full Frutiger guide →
Type specimen — Verdana (Humanist screen sans); shown in Source Sans 3, a close match (OFL)

Verdana

Matthew Carter's 1996 humanist sans, engineered pixel-by-pixel for Microsoft to stay legible at tiny sizes on low-resolution screens — generously wide, loosely spaced, and built for the early Web.

  • Generously wide proportions and loose spacing
  • Very high x-height for small-size legibility
  • Open apertures and unambiguous, distinct characters
  • Humanist modulation tuned to the pixel grid
  • Clearly differentiated I, l, 1 to avoid confusion
Full Verdana guide →

At a glance

FrutigerVerdana
Era19761996
DisciplineTypographyTypography
RegionFrance, SwitzerlandUnited States, United Kingdom
FamilySans-serifSans-serif
Formal traitshumanist, open-aperture, high-x-height, legibility-optimizedhumanist, high-x-height, screen-optimized, open-aperture

More comparisons

Advertisement